Where to start, when writing about a movie that kept me and many like me anticipating and curious for so long - The latest feat of my favorite director Christopher Nolan, the latest episode on my favorite superhero Batman and the latest blockbuster set to break all the opening week revenue collection records :-)
Well, let me just start by telling you what I did NOT like about the movie. That way, we can go towards what I liked at the later part and end this post on a positive note :-) And yes, no matter what I write below, this movie is a must watch atleast once. You cannot miss it!!
What I am about to write is for those, who can just start watching the earlier two Batman flicks by Nolan at any time, and watch them any number of times. So, what I am about to write are not necessarily the things, that all people may mind, but as a Batman fan, and as a Nolan fan, these are the things which I think could have been different - which make this movie a lesser candidate for those any-time-repeat watches.
My biggest disappointment from this movie is that I could neither find the spirit of Batman in this movie, nor enjoy some of the signature features of a Nolan flick.
Just staying in the Wayne Manor does not make Bruce Wayne, or for that matter anyone, a Batman. For me, Batman is and will remain "One of the wealthiest, most powerful man in the world [who] is secretly a vigilante, and who spends his nights beating criminals to a pulp with his bare hands".
You take away one thing or the other from this recipe and it does not feel like Batman anymore. And seriously, Can "THE" Bruce Wayne ever go Bankrupt?? Oh, I did NOT like that.
And, just as I said earlier, this is not something, people watching this movie would mind - it clearly adds to the cinematic and drama effects, but it is what I did not like as it disturbs the entire aura of Batman for me.
Moving on - when the latest two movies by Nolan are The Dark Knight and the Inception, one with a truck load of awesome quotes and other with the mind-boggling twists, turns and complications, you expect a strong flavor of both in his upcoming movie.
Well, not that there are no good quotes in this one, and we will see them soon - but when I recall the Dark Knight release, me and my friends were actually speaking using only those quotes with each other for many days after watching the movie first time - and then somebody use to stop us saying 'Enough of the Joker' and we got back saying - "that is another dialogue from the same movie. Welcome to the club"
That scale is missing in this one. Partly, I can attribute this to the fact that the Darth Vader styled mask-and-tone of Bane, did not leave too much room for Tom Hardy to throw in quotes every now and then, and then there was also a shift in behavior of Alfred. He is now seen as a more concerned and more I-want-to-see-your-kids kinda old man, which is a behavior we see in the real world as well - but that took away his opportunity to throw in some cheesy one-liners, taunting and encouraging and teasing the Batman and Bruce Wayne, every now and then.
On the overall plot, Nolan has chosen the widely-accepted flashbacks over his signature non-linear arrangement of the plot. He has chosen an inclination towards emotional drama over his usual reality-based-twists. Its not something we mind while watching the movie, but after we come out of the movie, we keep wondering, would his signature non-linear plot or some other arrangement of script make the emotional drama part squeeze, so that we enjoy more of the action between Batman and Bane than the whole drama thing.
What I did not like above all is that Nolan has focused more on making the "Grand" "Finale" than making another Nolan movie.
When I look at it, I clearly see a conflict between making a commercially hit movie and a batman-nolan kinda movie.
I remember that when Dark Knight Rises was first announced, there was a polling taken for who should be the next villain and if my memory serves well - most votes were received for Catwoman.
So, there was inclusion of Catwoman done, and frankly, it is only in past 6-7 months that I saw and heard the name of Bane in this movie. The very reason that the Catwoman may not have been not a part of Nolan's original plan of things for this movie, explains his handling of the character. I mean Catwoman is a comic-icon in herself and from whatever scraps she has grabbed in this movie, the character in this movie could have very well been just-some-burglar-girl next door. The overall justice done to the character of Catwoman in this movie seems to point that her name was included only to keep the voter-fans happy.
Good part is that whatever time Anna has been on the screen as Catwoman, she steals the show by her moves and expressions. In fact, she is one character you adore in this movie.
What I missed the most in a Nolan movie is that, Bane did not make use of any human instinct against Batman or against the Gotham city. After using Panic and Chaos as tools for his Ras-al-ghul and Joker, Nolan just deprives Bane from any such intricate weapon.
I am not sure, if the objective was to make a movie grander than the Avengers, but Nolan's entire focus for a hero-villian fight shifted from a fight escalated by internal conflicts to a fight which was grand enough to call it a war.
Nolan has done a good job with the grandeur, and for those who liked the last action sequence in the Avengers, last 45 minutes of this movie would be a real treat. Nolan has taken the good-evil fight to another level - and watching all that in a big screen of IMAX was a thrilling experience.
On that note, lets see the things I liked in this movie.
Well, I liked the movie as a whole - let me answer that question in your mind right away - Not as much as the Dark Knight, but yes, I like this movie.
And yes, to describe it in one word - i would say it is 'Grand'.
Some people may say it is too long - Well, for me it is a boon - I get to see more of Batman, more of a Nolan movie. So, I liked that it was lengthy and I liked it a lot.
Logistics get even better in this movie. We get to see many tumblers moving around streets of Gotham; the Batpod has the awesome twisting wheels, which make it look even more appealing, and we have "The Bat" - which is seen flying in the skies of Gotham, evading the police chases and fighting the bad guys and yes, it comes in black !!
The Stock Exchange theft was brilliantly done - I could not understand exactly what those people are doing, until all the pieces were joined; and when the theft was revealed, I was amazed.
Last 45 minutes, which Nolan has shot in IMAX, with thousands of Police and Rioters confronting each other - with bad-men controlling tumblers on one side and Batman in his Bat, Catwoman on Batpod on the other - is just too good to be missed.
The scene of entire stadium and then many parts of city getting blown up is briliantly created. The initial plane-hijacking scene is just too good.
This film has a lot of emotional elements and Bollywood movie buffs would just adore it for that. There is love and betrayal element involved around the Hero and his girls, there is a fatherly caring concern seen in Alfred, there is Commisioner Gordon caught in his dilemma of Harvey Dent's truth, there is even Bane who is in love, there is a honest young cop taking all the risks he can, to save his city.
Movie has some good quotes to remember as well - "It does not matter who we are, what matters is our plan", "I am adaptable","A girl's gotta eat","Or perhaps, he is just wondering why someone would shoot a man before throwing him out of a plane" are some of my favorites.
The one I liked the most is "Leave the rope behind and you will Rise" - Too deep :-)
Nolan has successfully mended many parts of the first and second movie to this one and brought most of them to a conclusion.
The Harvey Dent episode was obvious one. If the Dark Knight had to rise, somebody had to reveal Harvey Dent's actions.
League of Shadows is back and so is the Scarecrow. The entire plot around League of shadows actually reminded me of the tagline for next Bourne film - There was never only one :-)
The link I liked most is when Selena asks Bruce Wayne "So, what are you pretending to be?" and he replies "Bruce Wayne". This immediately took me back to the Batman begins climax, when Rachel tells Bruce Wayne that his face is his mask. That was the moment I knew that there is a romance brewing here :-)
All the cast members have done their job brilliantly. They look like their characters and live them on screen. Bale looks a man who has been in a hiding and who is suffering from physical and emotional pains, Anna is brilliant in her role of cat burglar, Veterans like Morgan Freeman, Micheal Caine and Gary Oldman are icons in themselves anyways. Joseph Gordon's Blake is promising and Tom Hardy does scare the hell out of his opponents by his mere strength. There is one particular occasion where he asks a corporate boss by putting a hand on his shoulder - "Do you really feel in-charge??". You can sense Bane's might in this scene and that is a success of Hardy.
All-in-all, It was a herculean task to top the effect of Dark Knight movie and a more difficult task to close all the open ends in the previous movies.
Some of it took special climax settings, some required unbelievable acts and bollywood style closures, some just needed a mention of truth.
To that effect, Nolan has done good justice in this movie and this movie sums up the entire Dark Knight Trilogy very nicely.
A few months down the line, If I have to watch this once again, I may not watch just this movie.
But, it is equally true that whenever I watch Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, I will definitely follow them up with The Dark Knight Rises.
This movie completes the entire narration of Batman by Chris Nolan; that is why it is a must watch episode of the trilogy.
So going forward, When you have watched all three, then you have Bane's permission to stop.
And remember, "You should be as afraid of him as I am" :-)
